Seoul Gazette - French far right keeps guarded silence over AfD Germany triumph

More than a day after the AfD emerged as overwhelmingly the largest party in elections in Saxony-Anhalt, neither Le Pen nor the leader of her National Rally (RN) Jordan Bardella have uttered a word about the biggest breakthrough for a far-right party in Germany since World War II.

Their silence matches a similar wariness from some other anti-immigration parties in Europe who fear that the AfD's positions on issues ranging from migration to history are sometimes too extreme.

Le Pen has her best ever chance in 2027 to win the Elysee at the fourth attempt, with polls showing her well ahead in a first round of voting and posing at least a major threat to any rival in the second round.

Bardella had in 2024 formally split with the AfD in the European parliament, the breaking point coming when a senior AfD figure declared that someone who had been a member of Nazi Germany's SS force was "not automatically a criminal" and a secret plan by the German party emerged for the mass expulsion of people of foreign origin.

- 'We take note' -

Bardella, 30, who is primed to be prime minister if Le Pen wins the presidency, had noted the day before the German polls that "the electoral pressure" of the AfD had forced the German government to take a tougher line on migration.

But he also emphasised "a number of disagreements" had led the RN "to take its distance from the AfD".

RN lawmaker Franck Allisio told television channel LCI on Sunday: "We have nothing to do with them."

He added it was "very good" the parties no longer sat together in the EU parliament.

"We have real problems on both style and substance. We do not consider them to be our allies in Germany," he added.

Fellow lawmaker Jean-Philippe Tanguy, a confidant of Le Pen, said that the AfD had taken positions that were "against the interests of France".

"We take note, the Germans voted for this party," senior RN lawmaker Philippe Ballard said curtly Monday.

He said while there were issues the two parties can agree on, the AfD confused "brutality with firmness".

- 'Dramatic restructuring' -

Elsewhere in Europe, hard-right Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has also kept a guarded silence as he eyes the British leadership.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, whose party has neo-fascist origins, has also not commented.

Le Pen has in recent years worked tirelessly on a strategy of "de-demonisation" to make the RN electable and distance itself from the legacy of its co-founder, her father Jean-Marie Le Pen.

But she has sparked controversy in the campaign by reaffirming a pledge to ban women from wearing the Muslim headscarf in public.

The AfD's victory also came at a sensitive time for the RN as reports emerged of tensions between Le Pen and Bardella on the headscarf ban and pensions policy.

Moving to counter the speculation, Bardella told BFMTV in an interview at the weekend that he had "an unwavering political and personal bond with Marine Le Pen".

Le Pen however remains fully focused on her tilt for the presidency, where much can still change with over half a year to go before the polls.

Q.Min--SG